1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a console box provided in the interior of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A console box which is provided between a driver's seat and a front passenger seat of a vehicle is used as a storage compartment for storing compact discs and others. Furthermore, a console lid for opening or closing the upper opening of the console box is frequently used as an armrest. In addition, a console box having an air conditioning register on the rear portion of the console box is familiar. This console box blows air for air-conditioning towards a rear seat, thus allowing passengers sitting on the rear seat to feel comfortable.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 08-295123 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-210006 disclosed a structure having an additional ventilation duct on the lower surface of a console box. However, when the ventilation duct is placed on the lower surface of the console box, the depth of the lower portion of an article storage part in the console box is inevitably limited.
Here, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-059815 disclosed a floor console having a ventilation duct in the sidewall of the console box and the inner wall of an article storage part. The ventilation duct is formed on the side surface, thus ensuring a sufficient depth for the article storage part.
However, when the ventilation duct is formed on the side surface of the article storage part, dew may form on the inner wall of the article storage part because of cold air which flows through the ventilation duct. In order to solve the problem, according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-059815, foam material is attached to the sidewall of the console box and the inner wall of the article storage part, thus providing a heat insulation.
However, the structure to which the foam material is attached is problematic in that the number of parts has increased, which increases costs. The structure having the additional ventilation duct on the lower portion of the console box is also problematic in that dew forms on the lower surface of the article storage part. However, the formation of the dew can be avoided only by laying a carpet on the lower surface of the article storage part. Laying carpet has usually been conducted. However, the additional ventilation duct undesirably leads to an increase in the number of parts.
Therefore, a console box with which the ventilation duct is integrated has been considered. As shown in FIG. 7, a console box is constructed so that a sidewall 101 and a box body 100 are integrated into a single structure. If a ventilation duct 200 is formed integrally on the lower surface of the console box, a slide core is required. Thus, the cost of a mold is increased and man-hours are increased.
Furthermore, when the console box is formed as shown in FIG. 7, gradients are required for the box body 100 and both sides of the sidewall 101 so as to remove a mold. For this reason, the volume of the article storage part becomes limited because of the limiting condition imposed on the entire width dimension.